MIES (Switzerland) – FIBA 3x3 continued its journey of incredible growth in 2024, delivering record breaking engagement across digital platforms and further cementing its status as the world's fastest growing urban sport.
2024 was an action-packed year, highlighted by a 17-stop World Tour and the historic Olympic Games in Paris, which saw 3x3 basketball continue to welcome millions of new fans. Total video views set a new record of 1.35 billion, and engagement on FIBA 3x3's digital media channels also reached a record 84 million. The online 3x3 basketball community grew substantially, with social media followers reaching 8.5 million. This growth was evident across all social media channels, including:
TikTok: Followers jumped by 58%, from 1.7 million to 2.7 million.
YouTube: Subscribers almost doubled, climbing by 95% from 512K to 1 million.
Instagram: Followers increased by 30%, reaching 712K
Facebook: Followers grew by 17%, from 2.3 million to just under 2.8 million.
Chinese social media platforms: Saw a healthy increase, from 933K followers to 1.3M.
"2024 was another outstanding year for 3x3 basketball, surpassing more records and connecting with millions of new fans globally," said FIBA 3x3 Managing Director Alex Sanchez. "Welcoming fans to watch our sport live in the Olympic Games for the first time has no doubt helped underpin this incredible success. But we know there is so much more we can achieve. We are excited to build on this momentum and continue to grow the sport around the world in the lead up to LA28 and beyond."
3x3 basketball's growing global fanbase was also clicking on fiba3x3.com for the latest news, with page views rising significantly to 24.5 million, up from 16.7 million in 2023. More fans were also tuning into 3x3 basketball thanks to a series of new broadcast partnerships, from 40 in 2023 to 65 in 2024. Additionally, fans could witness the half-court action from more locations than ever before, with action available in 160 territories worldwide.
The stars of the half-court also experienced significant growth on their own social media handles. FIBA 3x3 World Tour players saw an average increase. Meanwhile, women's players' profiles saw an average growth of 4%, with some individual players, including Germany's 3x3 basketball gold medallists, experiencing an impressive 300% growth.
At the centre of this record engagement were unforgettable sport throughout the year.
Paris 2024 saw the first ever 3x3 Olympic competition take place in front of fans and it did not fail to deliver. The 3x3 basketball venue at Place de la Concorde attracted sold-out crowds of 4,000 spectators daily, with thousands more gathering outside to catch a glimpse of the action. Netherlands and Germany claimed the men’s and women’s Olympic titles respectively in thrilling finals which were a fitting conclusion to an incredible showcase of 3x3.
The World Tour which opened in Utsunomiya and concluded with an unforgettable final in Hong Kong, stopped at 15 iconic locations in between, giving hundreds of thousands of fans incredible action and festival atmospheres which fused sport, music and culture. It was Amsterdam who claimed the biggest prize of the season, winning the World Tour final, and within the team it was difficult to look past Worthy De Jong. De Jon not only won the World Tour Final MVP but also the regular season MVP to add to the Olympic MVP he picked up in Paris.
The Women’s Series continued to go from strength to strength with 20 stops concluding in Hangzhou for a breath-taking final. France emerged the victors with Marie Mane taking the MVP honors. After what was widely described as the best season yet with record digital engagement, fans for this year and next year’s seasons will be able to enjoy the action live on the All Women’s Sports Network (AWSN), the first global women's sports channel.
Away from the main tours, the Continents delivered specular competitions in 2024. The Asia Cup at the famous Singapore Sports Hub OCBC Square ensured the season began in style with Australia winning gold in the women’s and men’s competitions. It also saw Iran emerged as a new force and Mongolia claim a double bronze. In the Europe Cup, fresh on the back of the Olympic Games, Vienna showed it was not just Paris that rocked to the 3x3 beat. Defined by electric atmospheres, it was Spain and Austria in the women’s and men’s competitions respectively that won gold.